It’s been a mixed bag for Blaine athletics so far in 2026.
Both boys and girls basketball have struggled to string together wins in the new year, with each team only winning once over the past half dozen games.
Boys wrestling has been taking care of business, defeating conference foes Nooksack Valley and Meridian in the team’s two duels since our last update.
Blaine girls wrestling saw Kiera O’Reilly and Analicea Ordonez place first in the Borderite Blizzard tournament on January 17.
Blaine boys wrestling celebrated Senior Night with a resounding win over Northwest Conference (NWC) rivals Meridian on January 14, winning 59-24.
Noxx Briner started off the night with a win by fall over Meridian’s Parker Larson. That was followed up by a win from Cole Voigt, who defeated his opponent by fall in 1:57.
Blaine saw wins from Vinnie Saia, Aidyn Hancock, Matt Campion, Rhys Milligan, Hugo Vekved and Avery Hicks. Of the seven Borderites to win by fall on the mat that night, Hicks had the toughest challenge in the heavyweight division, defeating Meridian’s Girffith Ingram in just under six minutes – the longest win by fall of the night.
On January 20, Blaine hosted the Battle at the Border, where Voigt took home first place in the 120-pound division with wins over Squalicum, Lakewood and Bellingham wrestlers.
Saia won his weight class, beating each of his three opponents by fall. The first place match was Saia’s fastest fall of the night, defeating Lakewood’s Cage Dewey in just 42 seconds.
Milligan won the 175-pound weight class, with the senior winning all three of his matches in under two minutes. The final Blaine wrestler to win first place in the Battle at the Border was Aidyn Hancock, defeating three opponents by fall in quick matches that lasted all of 1:14, 33 seconds, and 52 seconds. Briner made it to the first place match in the 106-pound division before losing to Bellingham’s Bryant Razo.
Blaine is scheduled to face Mt. Baker on the road on Thursday, January 22 at 6 p.m. (after press time).
Results provided by trackwrestling.com
Blaine girls wrestling held the Blaine Blizzard tournament at home on January 17, with Kiera O’Reilly and Analicea Ordonez each earning first place and Nevaeh Taylor placing fourth in their respective weight classes.
O’Reilly dominated, winning by fall in just 44 seconds in the quarterfinal round, then winning the semifinal round by decision, 13-0, then defeating Squalicum’s Faith White by technical fall, 15-0.
Ordonez was on fire, winning her three matches all by fall, and all in 50 seconds or less. Ordonez’s semifinal and first-place match each ended by fall in just 17 seconds – though the final did come against Blaine teammate Ella Jo Klander.
Blaine girls wrestling will travel to face Ferndale on Thursday, January 22 at 6 p.m. (after press time) then travel to the Lady Knights Invitational in Kamiak on Saturday, January 24.
Results provided by trackwrestling.com
Boys basketball turned out of a six game losing skid with a win over Mt. Baker on January 7, only to fall into a four game losing streak that the team hopes to turn out of as Blaine approaches the final stretch of the regular season.
Against NWC rival Mt. Baker, Blaine held off a valiant comeback attempt in the fourth quarter winning 71-61.
Senior guard Daniel Banks had one of his most productive offensive nights of the year, racking up 14 points and seven rebounds. Blaine’s leading offensive weapon, senior forward Landon Melton, kept up his high scoring pace with 19 points, icing the game with multiple free throws in the fourth quarter.
Since that win, the Borderites dropped games to Lynden Christian, Anacortes, Nooksack Valley and most recently Oak Harbor. The Borderites didn’t score more than 52 points in a game during that span, and are looking upwards at the rest of the conference – save for Mt. Baker – with a 4-11 record.
Blaine will look to steady itself in the final few weeks of the regular season, and try to get its offense back on track before postseason play begins in February.
The Borderites’ next game is on the road against Lynden on Thursday, January 22 at 7:15 p.m. (after press time), and its next home game is Saturday, January 24 against Orcas Island at 1:30 p.m.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
Blaine girls basketball pulled out of a six-game losing skid with a 50-42 win over Oak Harbor on the road on January 19, bringing the team’s record to 4-12 with five games left in the regular season.
The Borderites came out shooting, hitting on six of the first 12 shot attempts in the first quarter, and jumping out to a 22-14 lead that would not be relinquished.
Senior forward Aaliyah Bowman kept up her excellent season with a double-double, recording 22 points and 11 rebounds along with four steals.
Senior guard Brietta Sandell rained threes all night, shooting 5-for-11 from beyond the 3-point line, and finished the game with 15 points.
Junior forward Kate Koreski was everywhere, collecting 10 points, 10 steals, seven assists and six rebounds.
The Borderites will look to string together its first win streak since December with a January 27 game on the road against Lakewood, then another road trip to Ferndale on Thursday, January 29. Blaine’s next home game will be Monday, February 2 against Mt. Vernon.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
